Top 10 Unusual Islands Monuriki Island "This is a list of islands that are somehow unusual or notable. The ranking from ten to one is somewhat arbitrary, in my opinion, since each island is unique in its own way and ratings can’t really apply (it would be kind of like asking which piece of music is better, “Stairway to Heaven” or “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”). So this one is really more like a grocery list than a “countdown from ten to one” list. The islands listed were chosen in part for their obscurity, which is why (for example) Easter Island is not on the list — everyone has heard of that one!"
I don't know if it is one of the 10, but one of my all time favorites is Bass Island in Scotland. It has an amazing history and is now closed to visitors. It has several ruins left on it and is currently being used as a lighthouse. I think it's 3 miles across or something. I would LOVE to live on it.
Very good read. I'm going to find out who Elizabeth Sinclair is now such a mystery. Why would any one want to own an island and no visitors allowed? I also what to find out what guano deposits are and about them. One uninhabited island is now a tourists attraction. I won't tell how. Another island is occupied by, well you just don't want to go there.
Hart Island I've heard Potter's Field mentioned a lot in TV shows and movies based in NYC. This year marked the 150th anniversary of the first burial in Potter's Field, on Hart Island, on April 20, 1869. It is estimated that a million people are buried there. The island itself has an unusual history. "The New York City Cemetery, located on Hart Island, the Bronx, in the Long Island Sound, is commonly referred to as Potter's Field. The probable origin of the term 'Potter's Field,' as meaning a public burial place for poor and unknown persons, is a passage from Matthew 27:3-8." "The first recorded ownership of the island was by the Siwanoy Native American Tribe, who sold it to Thomas Pell in 1654. "It was purchased by New York City in 1868, used prior as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. It has since served as the home for many of New York City’s unwanted activities. There have been military barracks for the U.S. Navy during World War II, a narcotics rehabilitation center, a quarantine zone for yellow fever, a prison, women’s insane asylum, a tuberculosis hospital, a Cold War Nike missile base, and a training camp." "Many of the buildings still stand abandoned, including an abandoned chapel, the hospital buildings, and offices for the Department of Corrections full of papers and more."
"There are several versions of the origin of the island's name. In one, British cartographers named it "Heart Island" in 1775 due to its organ-like shape but the 'e' was dropped shortly after. A map drawn in 1777 and subsequent maps refer to the island as "Hart Island".
Jersey Island attractions and points of interest, UK "Jersey is a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom, located near the coast of Normandy, France. The bailiwick consists of the island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, along with surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks. St Helier is the capital of the Island, although Government House is situated in St Saviour."
Belmont Island Belmont Island is a small artificial island or islet in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The 100-by-200-foot (30 by 60 m) island, created during the construction of the Steinway Tunnel in 1906, is the smallest island in Manhattan. Then and now:
Anastasia Island off of St Augustine, Florida. This is where my oldest song lives a block from the beach. Well, maybe not after this week.
Interesting that Palmyra is on that list. I remember reading the book about the double murders (a husband & wife on a sailboat) that occurred there. (There was also a recent episode of 'Dark Waters' that featured the murder on the ID channel.) I am somewhat fascinated by atolls for some reason. They always seem so small and defenseless in the midst of a huge ocean.
I always wanted to see Crater Lake in Oregon, but it was a little too far off the main routes. I never realized how big it is until now (6 miles across). It has two interesting islands. A little one called the Phantom Ship. And a big one called Wizard Island Wizard Island is a little cone within the lake. Top of Wizard Island